AKITA
by Avenger of the fallen
Summary: A young werewolf separated from her family... Can she overcome the most difficult challenge and side with the darkest of dark?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One - Hunted

The run started as usual. Or so I thought it had.

There was a brief, momentary pause in my thoughts as my brother Leon rammed another of my five brothers in the rib cage. River growled, the hackles rising on the back of his neck rising with the heat of retaliation. We were not supposed to fight among ourselves like this, but we knew it kept our abilities sharpened.

I trotted forward and nudged Jasper's red-tipped ears with the tip of my wet muzzle. By far, the oldest of all my father's children and the heir to the Arctic Pack, Jasper held the most authority and was the most admired of all the Pack's children. He twisted his head, large brown eyes stared back at me, worry flashed in the dark depths. I shook my head to let him know I was fine. My own eyes were a dark, midnight blue- a colour I'd gotten from my mother. At least, that's what my father had said.

Jasper shifted his weight slightly and I lay down beside my favorite brother. He lifted on paw and rested it on my back. This was how we communicated, my Clan, through a series of gentle touches, mild yips, and clipped barks and our left the youngest of the male children in my family napped in the fading rays of the evening sun. Colton and Quincy- the twins- were older than me by two years. Leon was older than me by four years, River by six, and Jasper by seven.

Yeah, my father was a busy man, but he'd only ever loved one woman. Our dear departed mother who died to bring me into this world. I never got to know her, but everyone has told me that she was the light of my father's life. The one person who ever made his resolve waiver in the slightest. She was his hopes, his dreams, his love- in essence, my mother was my father's life.

Her spirit was strong when she fought to reach the safety of the Sanctum- a small thicket in the forest where the females gave birth to their young. Hunters had been on her trail for days and she was desperate to get herself to safety. Unfortunately, as you may now know, she never made it. I was born in the open on the vastness of the dark, icy lands of the Arctic tundra. A victim to the elements that surrounded me.

According to the Elders, I should have died that day as the wind and snow whipped around me in perfect, violent usion. That was the day I gave myself over to the Earth that was always mine to guard, to protect with the very blood that flowed within my veins.

Now, though, we were alone. It was the seven of us against the wild after Hunters entered our peaceful village and killed off a great number of our kin.

Jasper's tongue, rough and wet with slobber, gently licked the side of my muzzle. I wanted to smile at him, but couldn't. It just was not possible in the form I was in at the time.

Suddenly, as though the world had been lit up by hundreds of high-voltage lamps, the darkness of the night vanished. Wolves were running in every direction as gunshots sounded out in the clearing. Jasper nudged my side, 'get going!'. He projected the thought into my head.

'Where?'

'Just run. I'll find you, I promise.' I obeyed. The forest became a blur as I bolted through the dense trees. The foilage rustled slightly under the pads of my paws. I jumped over a brook and stopped, listening. There was no more sounds other than the gurgling water of the brook as it flowed. I closed my eyes.

Silence reigned.

There were no more shots, no more unnatural lights, and, as I looked around, I found that there were no other Pack members that had taken this way. I was alone.

I sniffed the air. The clean, crisp scent of new-fallen snow on the breeze drifted toward me. It wrapped me in its familiar embrace, pushing me to where I needed to be rather than where I wanted to be. The cold zephyr wind was like a set of gentle ghostly fingers as it caressed my fur.

Another sniff told me that there was no other living thing around that I could pick up on.

Three days passed quickly as I gathered as much as I could from the city that I'd stumbled upon while hunting for my nightly supper. I was reduced to this wilder side of myself that I never really had to use before.

The city's twinkling lights created a dazzling, but fake light show in the night sky. Voices drifted from the streets to the alley where I was hiding. Curiosity had gotten the better of me and I found myself inching further and further into the busy city. I could hear the pounding music of a near-by night club- the fast beat of modern rock hurt my sensitive ears. Cars of every size, shape and color zoomed past my hiding place as their drivers sped towards their destinations.

This was the alley I'd chosen to use on each of my trips into the city. From here, it was easy to get into the unlocked doors of the general stores and clothing stores. I shifted forms and put on the clothes I'd stolen from the mall a few streets over. The ink black pants and tee hugged my curves.

My stomach growled painfully loud as I tied up the laces of the black boots I'd taken from the same store as my clothes. It had been nearly twenty-four hours since the last time I'd eaten and it was beginning to take its toll on me. I had to find food, even if that meant rummaging through garbage to feed myself.

I rounded the corner and ran into the one group I'd been trying hard not to cross paths with. The Lords. I'd heard many things about them, but was not about to test the theory of their demons or angels. One of them lifted his head slightly, testing the air with his inhuman senses.

"The people were right," a pale faced man with bright blue eyes said softly. I suddenly felt safe as one of them stepped forward and let his gaze wander the length of my body. He did this not once, but three times.

"She's a looker that's for sure." This from a man who had a girl at his side. By the smell of her she was a Harpy. Her eyes bore into me, into the maze that was my mind. "What's your name kid?"

I didn't answer. As certain as I was that I would be mistaken for Bait or a Hunter I wanted to run, but was rooted to the spot.

'Mother Earth, guide your lost daughter to her needed place, I beg of thee.'

The wind stirred slightly, pressing me in the direction of the warriors I now stood in front of. I had my answer then and there. They needed me, or was it me that needed them? I wasn't sure.

"Probably Bait." Ah, there it was. That demeaning accusation that boiled my blood like crazy. Suddenly, I felt like speaking up to them.

"You dare," my voice was scratchy from not being used in days "call me that vile name?"

The one that stepped forward, the scarred one, put up his hands defensively. "You should tell us who you are and why you've been breaking into the local stores."

"Planning on bringing me to justice, then? Shall I roll over and play dead as well?"

"Are we roll playing now?" The pale one said excitedly. "O-oh, nice."

"Pipe it down., Paris." Paris. So, he did have a name. "Now, tell us the truth."

"No."

Another stepped forward. "Let me tickle it out of her."

"No, Gideon, no torturing."

Oh. My. Gods. They were Demons. My father and brothers had told me bedtime stories of their rise and fall since I was a little girl. They really were the Lords of the Underworld and I was stuck facing them down all by my lonesome.

I was acutely aware of how close they were closing in on me. I swayed on my feet, dizzy. Hunger ate at my insides. My vision swam and I felt a whoosh of air that meant I was falling. The thing is, I don't remember if I even hit the ground...


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO - THE GAME

I woke to warmth. The smell of putrid burning made me dizzy. I felt a weight on my stomach.

Looking down I spotted someone I thought I'd never see again. "Legion."

I reached down, the bald, scaled skin of her head under my fingers was a welcome change. The door opened and one of the men from earlier strode in the room.

"I hope she didn't wake you."

"Not at all. Legion is a welcome distraction anytime for me." His gaze lifted to my face; his violet eyes burned with an outer ring of red. "I once made a personal trip to a Hell Gate where I met her because I needed to bargain for my brother's life."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really." I replied hotly. "Look, just let me out of here and you won't ever have to look at me again, alright?"

He crossed his arms over the well muscled chest. "Not possible."

"Why not?"

"Because you're our prisoner until you tell us the truth of why you are in Buda."

I groaned. Great. Just freaking great. Not only was I separated from my Pack on top of being hungry, tired, and sore, I was now a prisoner.

"Just forget you met me in the street. I don't do well behind walls." I looked around, giving the room a sweeping glance. "O-o-okay... I'm a prisoner but I'm not in a cell?"

I could have sworn he smirked. "Would you rather the dungeon?"

"No!" I all but screamed the word. Cages and wolves didn't mix. More quietly, I added, "no, the room is fine."

The door opened again and a woman who was obviously heavy with child stepped into the room. My mouth watered at the food on the tray in her hands."Oh, she's awake? Good, I got her food right here, Aeron."

"Does Maddox know where you are?"

"I would not be in here otherwise."

"Just don't want to lose my head, Ashlyn."

Awed, I watched the two converse. I knew she was human- I could smell it off her. Yet, there was a faint, underlying trace of something a little more sinister, something more violent.

She placed the tray on the bedside table and turned to leave. I reached out and brushed my fingertips across her expanded stomach. She gasped, eyes widening slightly.

"Sorry, I've never been around a pregnant woman before. May I?" Before my hand could touch her again a growl sounded from the foot of the bed. "I'm not going to harm her. Life is precious, a gift from the Earth Mother is to be treated with respect and love and never animosity."

The ancient words tumbled fourth from my lips on their own. Powerless to stop the flood of truth I caved to the glorious feeling of freedom of speech.

"I am Akita. Daughter of Zion, born of Icy. I am the only female heir to the Arctic Wolf Pack and I am the messenger of the Great Mother, Earth. I am akin to the Great Father, Fenris who guides my Pack with a steady hand."

A dread settled over me. In defense of an innocent woman, I'd inadvertently given over the information that the Lords had been asking for.

"The truth at last." Aeron said uncrossing his arms. "And it took me to growl at you for that to happen."

"At me? Oh," I felt the color drain from my face. "I thought you were growling at Ashlyn... Oh, shit."

He smirked again. Legion shifted, snuggling closer to me. Slowly her eyes opened and she grinned up at me.

"Legion waited for Akita to wake up. Ssshe wantsss to play with the wolf insside."

I looked at the other two in the room, deciding then that I was already in hot water and a little more would not hurt. "Oh, Lege, sorry, but I can't right now. I don't have the energy."

"Then Akita eatsss now." She pulled an expression that could pass for angry. Her little scaled hands reached for the tray on the stand, but I beat her to it. "You eatsss now, then we playsss a game."

I wanted to laugh. I wanted to cry. Was I safe here? What were the immortal men going to do with little ol' me? Aeron turned on his heel and left the room with Legion clinging to his shoulders. Ashlyn followed, but not before giving me an apologetic smile.

"I pray your child grows strong and safe, Ashlyn."

"Thank you, Akita."

It felt like hours later as I lounged under the steaming hot water of the shower. The tray of food had long since been purged from my system thanks to my over-active metabolism. I turned off the water and stepped from the shower.

There, on the counter top, was a set of clothes. A clean, off-the-rack brand new cotton bra and panty set- tags removed, of course. There was a black lace and silk shirt with billowed sleeves. The jeans were factory-faded blue with silver designs on one leg.

I dressed slowly and went from the bathroom to the main room.

Where I ran straight into one of the men. This one, I had not seen before. He held a tray of food in his hands; steaming, delicious-smelling, freshly-cooked food.

"Sorry!" I said throwing up my hands. He said nothing as he placed the tray on the bedside table. His gloved hands smoothed out the wrinkled fabric of his black cotton tee. "You're one of them? The Lords?"

"Not that it matters to you," He said softly. "You should probably never touch me again."

"Woah, what? Not touch you? No problem. Might I ask why?"

"You wouldn't like the answer."

"Try me." Great, I was standing in a strange bedroom facing down a LOTU and playing a game of wits. What else could go wrong?

"Look, bad things happen when people touch me. Just keep your hands to yourself." His eyes followed my every movement as I lifted the cover off the tray. Staring back at me was a roast beef dinner complete with bread roll and a generous helping of mashed potatoes.

"Wow, which cook should I kiss for this?"

He laughed. The sound was a dark lilting one that shook me to my core. "Legion told us what you were like. And the cook was Ashlyn."

"In that case, I'll kiss her freaking feet for this meal. Where is the little rascal anyway? And why am I here instead of the forest?"

"We wanted to lock you in the dungeon, but Legion wouldn't let us." He paused. The room was quiet for a moment. Then, "she said that you weren't human."

"Legion?" I asked skeptically. He nodded. "Well, that is the truth of the matter, isn't it? If you've come to weed out more information, you'll forgive my lack of lady-like manners when I say you can go jump off a cliff, right?"

A look of surprise crossed his features. "I wasn't going to ask you anything. I merely wanted to know if what the little Demon has told us is true."

"My kin thrive on secrecy, you would be better off not knowing anything. Right now, I'm hungry, so if your questions, or affirmations, or whatever could wait until I'm done eating this wonderfully prepared meal fit for a God then I'll happily answer basic inquires along with keeping Legion entertained. "

I exhaled sharply as he stepped back alarmed. I followed his gaze to where it fell on my hands. My normally bitten-to-the-quick nails had elongated into blunt made-for-ripping-through-flesh claws. I looked back to his face where a hint of a smirk played on his lips.

"Oops; I guess I got angry, huh?" He raised one black brow. One hand rested on his left hip, the other plowed a path through the snowy-whiteness of his hair. "Is that your normal hair, or do you dye it?"

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Uh, duh, Akita, use your nose. Do you want to play for a trade-off? My mind went into hyper drive as I floundered with yet another episode of run-away mouth disease.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to put you on the spot."

He smiled. "Well, at least we know that you aren't scared to speak your mind around demons. Are you afraid at all?"

"Of who? You? Nope, not in the slightest, really. I grew up with five older brothers who stand six-foot-six each and built like brick houses, so no, I'm not afraid."

"Wow, five brothers? Well, I guess I'll leave you to eat your food then." With that the nameless man left the room. Of course, the food didn't last long on the tray as I devoured each and every delicious morsel of it.

When that was done, I turned my thoughts to other things. Namely, training.

A half an hour of yoga, a half an hour of meditation, and ten minutes of sit-ups later someone knocked on the bedroom door.

I ignored whoever it was and continued my regime. They knocked again, more impatient. I muttered under my breath and got up off the stone floor. Another knock- well, this one was more of a open-up-or-I'll-break-the-door-down banging. Hauling my shirt on over my head, I yelled an irritated 'come in' and plopped down in the chair next to the window.

Surprise, surprise when the same man from nearly an hour and a half before walked in flanked by two others. One was a woman with eyes so sad I wanted to howl down the moon until my throat was raw. The other was one of the men from the street- the one called Gideon. His electric blue hair and dark eyes spoke volumes to the 'run or die' persona he projected.

"I thought you'd be done by now." Snow top said lightly. His tone held an undercurrent of humor.

"With the food?" Was my tart reply. "Oh, I finished that an hour or so ago. I was just indulging myself in a training session. Or was that allowed?"

The one called Gideon smirked, "she's a quiet one."

Quiet? Me? Not by a long shot. "My guess is that you're Lies then? Good to know that I can trust that at least."

The smirk dropped from his face replaced by a scowl that said 'don't test me'. Unfortunately for him, testing people was my forte. I loved to test everything about everyone. If there was a weakness, I would find it in a heartbeat. If not, then I simply created one.

"She's human for a fact." A lie; I was not human at all. That's okay, I could use this.

"Am I? Truly? Or have you been deceived into believing otherwise?" Yes, a web of doubt slowly poured from my lips as he tried to make sense of the words he was hearing. I tipped my head to the side. "You need lies like I need breath, but are you certain you can trust your ears to deliver to you the truth of the matter?"

Gideon turned on booted heel and stomped from the room. One down, two to go. Then I would be alone once again.

"She's definitely not human." The woman's voice made me want to slit my own throat. I wanted to cover my ears, but that would only show weakness. I didn't like to show weakness. Instead, I pressed my mind to think of something, anything else to keep her very presence from causing me any more harm.

An image of my brothers popped to the forefront of my head. We were play fighting in this memory, and I was rather fond of it. I projected the image to every crevasse of my mind I looked her in the eyes as I smiled.

"You sound as though the weight of the world is on your shoulders." Her eyes narrowed into slits and she crossed her arms again. "Oh? Not impressed with my abilities then? Isn't that a shame."

"How are you able to fight the Misery in Cameo's voice?" The blond hunk from earlier said softly. "Many others that were far stronger than you have tried and failed."

"Far stronger physically, probably, but not mentally. As par with our agreement earlier, I will answer your questions honestly. If you wish to recall your friend, by all means, do so. I'll try my best not to break him if he speaks."

"Feisty." Cameo said lightly. "I'll get Gideon."

"My name is Torin, by the way."

"You know my name already." If I let them in now, I'll get attached. Getting attached was not a good thing. Not by a long, long, long shot.

Torin smiled. "Yes, but I- we want to hear you say it." He remained standing while Cameo sat on the bed. Gideon leaned against the wall.

"Are you a support beam now? I don't think the wall needs you holding it up." Torin stiffled a laugh as I spoke.

"You said you would try." Cameo said crossly.

"Oops, I guess I lied." I said smugly. "You have some questions for me I take it?"

"Let's not put her in the dungeon."

My eyes widened at Gideon's icy request. "No! Please no! No cages, no dungeons, no cells of any type, please!"

Great, I was reduced to begging. What's next? Fetching?

"Yes, we have questions for you." Torin said. He cast a backward glare in his friends direction. "So what's your name exactly?"

Can I scream now?

Interrogation 101: Don't let your questioners see you sweat was rule number one. So far, so good.

Rule number two? Lie without actually lying. This puts the inquisitors on edge.

"My name is Akita."

"No last name, Akita?"

"None that you need to know about."

Torin rubbed his temple. "Look, we know that you aren't human so let's cut to the chase, shall we? Why are you here?"

I smiled as warmly as I could. "Here as in Budapest, or here as in this place?"

"As in Buda." Cameo growled at me. Apparently these people didn't know what sarcasm was. "We're waiting."

"I realize that. You should be thankful I don' t make you wait any longer." I replied. I knew my tone was snarky. I couldn't help it- it was my defense mechanism. "I'm here in Buda because I was moving here with my family."

"Where are they? Maybe we could find them for you."

"You mean maybe you could Devine if I'm lying by asking me to disclose information on those I'd rather die for than betray."

"Wow, she's bad." Meaning- coming from Gideon- that I was good.

"Thanks, Giddy! You're so sweet."

"Do not call me 'Giddy'." There it was. That steel edge I was waiting for. My holders knew nothing other than my name and that I was not human. Anything else was up to me.

"Okay, Lies, I won't call you Giddy anymore." I tried to grin, but it felt like a grimace to me. "Seriously though, I'm in Buda with family; my father and five older brothers. We traveled from the northern region of the Arctic to live here."

"Okay," Torin looked to Gideon. Could he actually tell if I was lying? Gideon gave a short nod. Yup! Apparently he could. "So, where are they now?"

I glanced out the window. The trees beconed to me as they swayed in the

breeze. Delicate flakes of the spring snow twirled and danced on the softly blowing

winds. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" That she was in the room irritated me. What made it worse was that I was actually miserable without my brothers near me. I faced Cameo with a dark look.

"It's just as I said: I don't know." I turned back to the window. "If I answer your questions can I go outside?"

I watched as Torin's reflection smirked. "That depends on the answers. If you answer us straight, I may be able to arrange something."

"How about if I take the little monster with me?"

Gideon raised one brow. "Little monster?"

"Legion." I said simply. He nodded with a grin.

"That may be accomplishable." Torin said calmly. "Now, Akita, can you tell us why you're here in Buda? The full truth this time, if you will."

I took a deep breath. "It started about three months ago. My father- the Head Elder of my clan- accepted the presence of a man claiming to be lost in the wilderness of our great north home. A few days later, these people came into our village with guns and enough ammo to decimate a small city. They had an infinity tattoo on their wrists and called themselves Hunters. Messengers of the higher good they told us. My people knew different. Messengers of the good didn't act like they did.

They killed off so many innocent lives because they said we were dangerous to the world they were fighting to protect." I turned to face the trio with tears in my eyes. "I can still see the faces of the ones they shot. I can still hear the cries of the children they stole from us- ten in total ranging in age from six to eleven."

Torin's gaze went to the floor. "What are you, Akita?"

"I am a Garou- a werewolf." I told him the truth now. "Cage us, confine us, tell us we can't run and we go crazy. Wild with the need to release the beast within and run through the forest to hunt as our animal brethern hunt."

"Amazing." Cameo said softly. "This is how you were able to defy my power- your own misery conflicts it."

"Yeah, I guess that was part of it. The other part would be that whenever I think of my brothers I'm too happy to be bothered with misery." The look on her face was simply priceless. Gideon actually smiled.

"How many adult Garou are left?" Torin asked quietly.

I sighed, my shoulders sagging. "There was only one other female- one of our Thurges- named Nadallia. She and my neice were...otherworldly- practicing their powers. Other than that are the six males- my father and five brothers."

"So, there are nine in all?" Torin again.

"We don't know where Nadallia or Valeria are. The only ones in Budapest are my father, brothers, and myself."

Torin sighed and walked to the door. "You have the same luck that we do with the Hunters, Akita. I'll see what we can do about getting you an escorted run."

"Thanks."

If Gideon had heard me lie, he gave no indication to his friends. Torin held the door open for Cameo then left himself.

"What can your people do?" Gideon had stayed behind.

"Thurges are Seers- those that are able to cross on a whim into the spirit world. There are also the Ragabash who are the tricksters; the Gilliards, or song-carriers. They are the ones that remember the songs and stories of our people and sing them on special occasions."

"Not good." Meaning not bad in Gideon's world.

"Yeah. There are others- I'm just not that good at remembering. Oi, oh yeah, I'm a Ahroun- a warrior. The Pack is comprised mostly of warriors. There are a few others, but they don't really do much. Then there are those who leave the Pack for a quieter life on the outside, but keep any connections that the have with us. They are the ones we like to call Ronin. Lone wolves."

Seemingly content with the information I was giving him, Gideon turned to leave.

"Gideon," I called softly. "Um, sorry I was a bitch- no pun intended- to you earlier. I like to push my limits and that's all I was doing. Pushing to see how far I could get with the three of you."

He half-turned back to me, listening, but not speaking.

"Well, um, yeah. Sorry. Hey, do you think you could get a message to Legion for me?"

"No." Yes, then.

"Great, thank you. Please let her know I'll play as soon as I can get outside?"

"Nope." Another yes. He left then without another word to me.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE - PLAYTIME

I had gone wolf by the time that Torin came back to my room. The startled look on his face would have made me laugh if I was in my human form.

"Akita?" I bowed my massive red-brown head at his voice. I knew he was asking my name. "You really are a wolf."

Damn. Was I actually going to get my run or not?

He put out a gloved hand. Skin-to-skin, he'd said earlier. I trotted over and nudged the tip of his fingers with my muzzle.

"Amazing." He walked to the door and motioned for me to follow. I did.

The hallway was made of the same stone as the room I was in. As we passed one room I heard a man give an excited gasp. Torin smirked. So I was not a common occurrence here. That was interesting.

My eyes wandered to the various paintings and decorations that lined the hall. I could smell that the acrylic paints that had been used were new so someone here had a great talent. Silently, I wondered if she or he would paint a picture of me.

I growled as a shadow passed our path.

"Hey, Torin, I thought you were gone to get the girl?" The one called Paris said.

"I did." Torin hid a smile of satisfaction. "She's right here."

"This is a wolf, Torin."

"The girl is the wolf, Paris." The tone of Torin's controlled voice was a hidden warning I knew all too well.

"Wow."

"Yeah."

A female gasped from the shadows. The tenor of which I knew to be Ashlyn's. I turned my head in the direction of the gasp, a soft whine escaped my muzzle. I laid flat on my stomach in the hallway and waited for her to approach me.

"What the hell is that, Torin?" A new male voice asked crossly. Paris laughed lightly. That laugh was joined by both Torin's and Gideon's. "Where did the wolf come from?"

"Remember the girl that Ashlyn brought food to earlier?"

"Oh. My. Gods." Ashlyn, again.

"This is her? She's a werewolf?"

"Maddox, hush." Ashlyn moved forward. The one called Maddox caught her by the arm.

A warmth rushed my brain. Hurt.

Yes, yes. Hurt the one hurting the woman.

A dark, blood-lusted growl erupted from my throat before I could re-route my pattern of thought.

Several things happened at once. Legion was suddenly beside me, her scaled hands tangling in my dark fur. The one called Maddox ushered Ashlyn behind him, and three guns were suddenly pointed on me.

"Stand down." Aeron. His dark voice was a prayer answered. "Legion told me a few things we didn't bother to ask about. Number one, Akita's kind are particularly protective of children and women. Number two, any sudden movements can be registered as a threat to them."

"Well, now, at least, we know who she's growling at." Ashlyn said softly. I whined. "She wants me."

"Hell no!" Maddox got to go and ruin my fun.

Legion spoke then, "Ssshe no hurt her. Akitasss nice!" Damn I love that demon!

"Answer's still no."

"Maddox, please, just to see what she will do, let Ashlyn go." Another voice joined the crowed.

"Lucien."

"Maddox." Lucien said. As they argued I inched forward on my stomach. Slowly, inch by inch, I moved towards Ashlyn's feet. If he moved her or hurt her in any way, I was well within biting distance of Maddox's ankles.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Paris holding back his laughter. Gods save me if he erupted now. Ashlyn, however, did giggle.

"If she bites you, it's your problem." Torin.

"What?" I looked up. Maddox looked down. Crap. "How did she get this close?"

"No idea." Gideon said blandly. "She did not move little by little."

"Oh okay, great." Maddox was mad. I wasn't so sure that was a good thing for me. Ashlyn bent down and put her hand out. I lifted my muzzle, touching the cold of my nose to her warm palm.

The hall went strangely quiet. She got down on her knees and ran her hand through my fur. "It's so soft." I closed my eyes and relaxed under her touch.

"Wow, would you look at that?" Paris said quietly.

Yeah, boys, look at me. Ohhh! A shiver went through me as she scratched behind my ears. Gods that felt amazing!

Her hands vanished. I looked up and came face to face with Maddox's confused looking features. I lifted my nose slightly as if sniffing the air. He raised one brow. Okay! Prank time!

I pretended to sniff again. He lowered his guard slightly as he cast a glance at Ashlyn's pouting face. Then I licked him.

Everyone in the hall suddenly erupted into gales of laughter. Maddox, on the other hand, was not amused. By the time he stood up and reached for his gun, I'd already hidden behind Torin's legs. Another round of laughter greeted me.

Legion jumped up onto my back and wrapped herself around my furry body. "We go out now. Akita sssaid ssshe play. Me wants to play!"

Torin walked over to the end of the hallway with me on his heels. A sudden gust of cold winds hit the side of my face, ruffling the fur there and sending warm tingles down my entire body. Someone had opened a door to the outside and I inhaled the sweet smell of pine and melting snow. The fresh, crisp air beckoned to me like a long lost friends embrace. My paws picked up speed as I nearly tumbled down the stairs in my effort to get to the forest on the other side of the stone walls.

I didn't mind being inside, but my preference was for the wild open spaces where I could run unhindered to my hearts content. Three of the warriors came outside behind me. Paris to poke fun, Lucien to calmly watch my interaction with Legion, and another I could not name.

"Trapsss and tricksss." Legion whispered in my ears. I gave a short nod of my massive head and took off toward the trees at top speed.

Ice under foot caused my footing to falter making me fall flat on my stomach with a yelp. We slid a few feet before I regained my balance and started running again. I circled, wanting to see if Paris was still enjoying a good laugh at my expense.

Turned out that he was. Lucien, however, was still watching me closely.

_That's fine. Keep watching- you might learn something._

Paris had his back to me. Fortunately, Legion was playing hide and seek so she was no where near me. All that could stand between me and my target was the man whoso eyes were locked on my every move.

I crouched in a cluster of tall bushes, waiting for the right time to pounce on the unsuspecting prey. I quietly padded my way over to the spot where he was talking to the nameless warrior who'd come out with us. Still unaware of my presence, he began to call out to me. Using dog signals. That only earned him a nip in the ass if you asked me.

I rolled my eyes and waited as he continued to look for me, calling out now and again. And then he bent over to retrieve a stick off the ground. Perfect.

I bolted from behind the bushes and rammed his backside with my head sending him flying into a bank of icy-cold snow. Head first, of course.

I could hear laughter from behind me and turned to see Lucien and another woman I didn't know laughing. I barked happily and trotted over to the fallen warrior.

"I ought to drop you into a lake of cold water for that one, you beast." Okay, being called a beast was new to me. But I did get my vengeance for his uncalled-for dog treatment of me. Paris got to his feet and grabbed a handful of the sloppy snow from the ground. Uh-oh.

I made a break for it, but the slimy, wet ball ended up hitting me in the back of the head.

Damn. I growled softly at the warrior. He gave me a palms-up sign for surrender. Too late, Paris. I pounced again, this time putting him on his back and pinning him with my weight.

There were some shouts from the growing crowd of spectators. Some awed, some angered, and a few that registered as upset.

"You want to play, huh?" Paris said. He grabbed at my muzzle and flipped me over his head into another bank of snow. I yelped, surprised. He got to his feet again, white dripping from his hair. "Come on, then. Let's see what you got, Wolf-girl."

"Go easy, Paris, she's just a girl." Yeah, okay, Lucien. I'm just a girl that can heal fifty times faster than a human with the strength of a freaking bear on my side and more tricks than Kellogg got Corn Flakes.

"Don't worry, Lucien, I'll try." Paris sneered the last word in my direction. I had one plan in my mind at that time and it was going to work if he was as cocky as I thought he was.

I lifted one paw and limped towards him slowly. He cast a confused look at my paw and sighed. Yes! He was off guard! I limped a little further then slumped down on the ground in front of him. He knelt down and reached out for me to check for injury.

I whined, lifting my head to better access the take-down point I needed. Paris leaned in closer. Yeah, that's it, big boy. Just a little closer now.

I jumped, locking my jaws around his throat with my teeth poised over his carotid artery. He paled- if that was even possible for him to be even more pale than he was- and gasped out in wonder.

"Shit, she took him down."

"A matter of seconds, too." A female, Cameo. Her voice resounded off the walls of my mind in an agonizingly painful echo. I nearly clamped down in pain on Paris' neck.

I forced my hold to loosen before I could do any serious damage and bolted off in search of Legion to play hide and seek.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR - FAMILY FOUND

I fell to the bed in the room I was assigned. Exhaustion threatened to completely take over. That had been the best two hour run of my life- bar none.

My eyes closed slowly, pulling me into a dark abyss of sleep...

***DREAM***

Eyes wide, I was standing on the edge of a cliff staring out over the raging ocean.

I was dreaming and I knew it.

The feeling that I had been here before washed over me as I watched the churning, dark waters. The waves crashed thunderously against the cliff, the spume splashing upward, splattering on the winds that carried the salty beads into my face.

I closed my eyes and listened.

I could barely make out the distant echos of a wolf howling.

I inhaled the scent of salt water, pine nettle- there was a forest nearby- and spring grass. Why was I able to do this, I was not Thurge? Was this the Penumbra, the spirit world of my brethren? If so, then why was I here?

"Akita! Please, help me!"

Who?

Understanding dawned. One of my brothers had pulled me into Penumbra.

"Akita! Hunters have me, please, help!" Colton's velvet voice was strained and pained. He was draining his energy just to obtain some sort of help.

"I will, my brother. I'm coming for you." Colton's power, as with all my wolf kin, enabled him to pull anyone into the Spirit World or Penumbra as well as enabling us to cross into that world for travel purposes. "I'll come for you with a whole lot of vengeance in my aide."

***DREAM***

I woke in a cold sweat. The blood in my veins felt like ice, heavy and thick. I ran a shaking hand through my damp black-red hair and let out a pain-laden sigh that sounded more like a sob than anything else.

I stood on wobbling legs and forced my feet to move toward the door. I had to get help. This was something I was not about to do on my own and those that lived here in the fortress were my only hope at saving and finding my family.

Once in the hall I closed my eyes, sifting through the sounds and smells of the fortress in order to find the others.

And find them I did, in a huge training room. "I need your assistance in something that I can't do alone."

"Like?" One of the warriors stood and walked over to a rack of towels.

"Sorry, who are you?" I asked, trying to sound interested.

"Strider."

"Oh, okay. Well, I need your aide in breaking one of my brothers out of a Hunter prison. He pulled me into a Penumbra in order to request my aide, but I can't do this alone."

"He did what now?" Paris said leaning against the far wall.

"Pulled me into a spirit world called a Penumbra where only my kin and kind can go to travel or communicate across vast distances." I got some odd looks for that one. "Please?"

Gods I hated begging!

Gideon stood, "I say we totally don't help the wicked wolf-girl out."

That was one.

"She could be playing us for fools, but I'm with Gideon. She puts up a good fight and I don't believe she's a Hunter herself." Said yet another I didn't know.

"Sabin's right," Lucien said softly. "She's been a bit... wild, but I, too, think we can trust her in our midst. After all, she did have her teeth around Paris' throat. She had a chance to kill, yet didn't take it."

A nice argument, but how would the others take it?

"Lets say five of us go with her," Sabin said thoughtfully. "Or even six- we got the fortress covered on the inside and we get the chance to see about the other stuff she told us about."

"In other words to see if I'm being honest with you."

"Yes, basically." This from a guy who had a knife sticking out of his arm. "And before you ask my name is Reyes."

"Cool. Demon-possessed men who are more than they seem were on my highest 'Lets Be Friends' list, so this is awesome."

"Really?" Gideon said with a skeptic glint to his dark eyes.

"No." I replied. "Not really. Look, I just really, really need your help. If I can't get it, then I do this the best way I can on my own. Either way, I'm busting my brother out of wherever he is."

Without another word I stalked from the room to leave the men to talk. The only one not in the room was Torin. It didn't take me long to find my newest friend.

I knew he was in the room with Cameo even before I reached the door. My werewolf hearing allowed me to hear them talking. I knocked. She answered, her hair- loose today- tumbled down her back in waves.

"Sorry for interrupting you two, but I really need to ask Torin a few questions if I can."

"Come in," her voice was beginning to have little effect on me as she spoke. Torin sat in a chair facing the far wall. The rich scent of male and female arousal was thick in the air of the room. Cameo shut the door and sat on the huge bed in the center of the room.

"Again, I'm sorry for any intrusion on your privacy, but I really need to talk to you." He sighed, defeated.

"What do you need?"

I cleared my throat. "Well, I was wondering if you would be able to find someone or, rather, a group of someone for me. If not, I'll be out of your hair right now."

"Who- I'll see what I can do." So helpful.

I took a deep breath, uncertainty placing a heavy dread on my mind. "Hunters. They have my brother and I want to bust him out."

"Hunters?" Cameo asked. "Have you talked to the others yet?"

"Yeah, I have. Some don't - at least it doesn't feel that way- trust me."

"We just met you, that plays a small part in our trust of you, Akita." It was the first time she'd used my name.

Although, I could understand how the fact of just meeting me would damage the trust factor slightly. I was still skeptical.

Torin typed away on his computer, bringing up information on screen after screen of monitors. Suddenly, he stopped. I walked up behind him, careful not to get too close, and saw what made him stop.

There, on one of the many screens, was a pack of five huge, Silverback wolves prowling around the far side of the hill, just outside the fortress. Wolves that would be hard for me to mistake anywhere in the world. My family.

Somehow, they'd caught my scent and found where I'd been taken. They had found me.

Giddiness rushed through my blood, pushing against my heart in ways I'd not felt since losing my village to the Hunters' devastating powers. "My family, Torin. They found me."

I ran from the room, unable to bring myself to heel and thank the man who'd spotted them to begin with. Down the stairs and out the front door I ran. Past the trees that now blurred together in sparkling hues of green and white. Past jagged boulders and over the rocky, dangerous hillside to the place where my kin had been seen.

I registered shouts from behind me, the voices falling in unheard tones. Only one thought ran rampant in my head- getting to my father and brothers.

I turned one more corner in my quest and fell to my knees in front of the biggest of the five wolves. "Papa! Papa! I'm here! I'm unhurt, I'm safe." He pushed his massive head into my chest as I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his fur.

A soft growling whimper from the others had tears springing from my eyes, flowing over onto my cheeks. Each one I kissed the muzzle of and hugged tightly. Each awarded me their nips and licks of love and relief.

Panting behind me snared my attention. I inhaled. Roses, rain, and other scents assaulted my nose.

"Paris, Lucien, Gideon- this is my family. My father is tired and needs rest, please, I request you make room in both your hearts and home for them to recover."

"Well, come on then." Lucien said gently. "We'll talk inside."

"They don't look tired."

I turned to my family and smiled. "Gideon's a born Liar, don't mind him."

Jasper nudged my hand; Quincy, Leon, and River barked a laugh.

"You had better have a very good excuse for partnering with the Lords."

I stiffled a laugh as my four remaining older brothers stared at me. "I remained out of sight as long as I could, but wildlife game is scarce here if you hadn't noticed. Reduced as I was to stealing, people began to talk and the Lords became suspicious of my presence. The night that they found me I'd passed out in an alleyway. When I woke, they thought I was a Hunter- a mistake that I quickly remedied."

"So they know about us?" Quincy asked lightly. His usual humor was darkened by the loss of his beloved twin. "In a way, that is a good thing."

Jasper ran a hand through his dark locks. "Yeah, well, the main thing is that we may have allies that can help us get Colton back from our attackers."

He sat down on the edge of the bed. We were in my room inside the fortress. Father was a little ways down the hall, resting his tired body.

Someone knocked on the door. Quincy growled softly at the intrusion. Torin's pale head peeked around the corner.

"Found him." I leaped up from the chair and followed at a safe distance down the hall to his room. "It turns out that they're looking a little scared right now- not one Hunter is inside the house where they're keeping your captured brother."

"That means they made a deadly mistake. If Colt gets loose," Quincy shuddered violently. I hadn't realized they'd followed me.

Jasper grimaced, "we may have to fight him in order to calm him down."

"Agreed." Leon and River piped up at the same time.

Leon took a shuddering breath. "I don't too much like having to fight our brother like that, but we can't afford to let innocent lives be destroyed because of the Hunters' folly."

Seemingly following my every que, my brothers steered clear of Torin's touch. I could hear the other men and women of the fortress talking somewhere nearby about me and my brothers.

"Torin, have the others reached a decision on whether or not they are going to help get my other brother free of the Hunters?" I asked softly.

"Not yet, but I'm sure now that your family is here they will change their minds." He replied smoothly. He ran a gloved hand through his pale locks and smiled at me gently. "We never knew your kind actually existed. I mean, we knew about the vampires, Harpy's and other supernatural, but werewolves were not something we were used to encountering."

Jasper snorted a laugh, "And now you have six of us under your roof."

"You _have_ caused a bit of a stir."

The air was suddenly so tense that you could have cut it with a dull knife. My father was behind us. Turning, I grinned at the oldest of our kin. He smiled back at me warmly, but that warmth didn't really reach his eyes. I knew that the only way it would was when we survivors were together once again and safe from all harm.

"You've done well, my daughter." Father said quietly. "There was a time in the last week that we thought you'd been taken by those so-called higher good workers along with Colton."

"Papa, he came to me in Penumbra, begging my aide. Could he be a Thurge?"

"The speculation has always been that one of the twins was one. Now, with your testament to his powers, we know for sure." The admission in his voice was shot through with pride. "The only thing left to do is get Colt out of the Hunter's clutches and turn him back into the calm son and brother we remember him to be."

"Yes," Jasper whispered. "And then we find my daughter. Vale and her mentor cannot be found; they would have escaped the turmoil of the battle against the Hunters by slipping into Pen."

Father nodded once, the movement nearly unnoticeable to the naked eye, and left the room.

"Tense." Torin said with a small whistle. "That's your dad?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "He won't be able to relax until the remaining members of our Pack are together once again."


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE - PLANS OF ATTACK

"He's your Alpha, then?" We had just been in the presence of my father and Torin was rather curious. Jasper nodded. "Wow, your dad's your Alpha. Who's your- I'm guessing it's called Beta?"

"Jazzy here's dad's second in command- his Beta." Quincy said with a flourish of his hands. "When Father is away or out of commission, we have no choice but to obey the word of our beloved eldest brother."

"Oldest? So Akita is the baby, correct?"

"You got it!" Quincy tried hard to make his voice sound happy and carefree, but the strain of his tone belied the words he spoke. Torin, as if sensing the pain my bother was in, turned back to his monitors.

"Nice set-up." River said. It was the first thing he'd said in a long time. "We don't really use computers where we used to live, but I could get used to doing so if I had a teacher."

It was a subtle hint on River's part, but Torin caught on. "Sure thing, as long as you don't touch me. I house Disease so you would have to be extra careful."

"Cool, thank you, Torin." We all turned surprised looks to our brother who looked away from our prying eyes. I was sure he was just trying to create a friendly atmosphere for us to co-exist with the demon possessed men. It was River's way of dealing with new people and places.

I turned on my heel and left the room. I smelled food. Steaming hot, hand prepared food and the luscious smell of Ashlyn's honey scent assaulted my nostrils as I nearly ran back to my room. She was there with the tray balanced in her hands, standing at the door to my room.

"Ashlyn! Let me help you with that." I called out just before I reached her. "My brothers and I were with Torin trying to lock on Colt's location."

"Oh, did you find him?"

"Yeah, we did. The problem now is getting him away from the Hunters and back to his safe-to-be-around sane self."

Ashlyn cast a worried glance in my direction. "He's unsafe to be around?"

"At the moment." I replied setting the tray on the dresser. "But you don't have to worry about it. We're going to make sure he's safe to be around before we bring him to meet you and the others."

Her honey- brown eyes gave me a weary look. "How, exactly, do you intend to do that?" Was she worried about our well-being or Colton's?

"Fight him, if we must, but the easiest way is to just get him to the wild where he can run it off."

She let out a sigh of relief. "So, you're saying that your kind would have to force his hand and not the Lords?"

"That's right. The only help we actually need from the Lords of the Underworld would be getting the Hunters out of the way." Jasper said as he strode into the room. "Forgive my intrusion. My name is Jasper, Beta to the Arctic Wolf Clan, eldest brother to Akita."

Ashlyn smiled. "I'm Ashlyn, Maddox's wife."

"A sincere pleasure to meet you, Lady Ashlyn." Woah, bro, way too formal. Although calling her Lady when she's married to a Lord of the Underworld would not be an actual lie, it was still a bit too formal.

"Thank you, Jasper." She said with a smile before leaving the room. He walked to the dresser and uncovered the food.

"Is this safe to eat?"

"I'm not dead, and I have eaten her cooking."

"Don't get mouthy; I'd have to punish you."

"Please, like you would do that to your Pretty Princess."

This was how we carried on. This was how we survived with one another. Jazz grinned at me as he swiped a bowl of soup off the tray.

"Go ahead, eat up 'cause I'm raiding the kitchen in a minute." Quincy said as he headed down the hall with River and Leon close behind him.

The others were waiting for us down in the kitchen- which was a huge freaking place- when we finished eating. Jasper growled at Strider when the immortal reached out to pat my head. I growled at Jazz, playfully snapping my jaws in his general direction.

"Snap at me again and you'll be eating out of a straw for the next week."

"You can try." I replied saucily.

"Take it outside, you two."

Jazz smiled at Father as he walked into the spacious kitchen area. Father smiled back, but I could see the lines of stress around his mouth and eyes. I knew that those would not disappear any time soon.

Strider moved to offer my father his seat at the table; dad declined, preferring, instead, to stand against the far wall. He watched his children interacting with the immortals, never speaking but ever vigilant.

"So, as I was saying," Lucien said in a voice that commanded everyone attention. "Torin was able to track down the place where Akita's brother is being held. There is a small window of opprotunity left in which we have to act on the information from both Torin and the Pack because of the fact that the young wolf has been caged."

Paris sent me a look of sympathy. "You said earlier when Cameo, Torin, and Gideon questioned you that your kind went crazy if you were caged, right?"

"Yes, that's right. Cages and wolves don't mix. If one of us is caged then there is a very small time frame until we go mad because we can't get outside." I replied. "That means if Colton's been caged for more than three days we have a extremely tiny window of time to get him into the wild to recuperate."

"So, with that, we have to get him out of the place he's in before any innocents get hurt."

"My son is my Pack's responsibility." Father said in a forced whisper. "We will worry about his sanity on our own. What we need from you is help keeping the Hunter's busy while we get Colton outside and into the wild."

Gideon gave a small smirk. Sabin looked at my father as if he'd grown another head. "Okay, you're going to handle your son, we're good with that. How do you feel about killing humans?"

My father smirked- a deadly action on his part. "However you wish to deal with them is entirely your own concern. Tear them to pieces if you want to, I care not if they die. It's no more than they deserve for invading my village and decimating my Clan for no reason."

Several of the warriors laughed at the sudden dark remark from my normally peaceful father. "Well, at least we know that they don't care for the lives of the ones that hurt them."

"Fat chance of that _ever_ happening, man." Quincy said evenly. "They have my twin, they die. It really is that simple for me. I think I'll tear into a few of them myself just to avenge my captured brother."

To that, all of the warriors grinned.

"We could go in first using our Crinos forms, throw them off their guard so that the guys here can do their thing while we get our brother out." River chimed in, his voice laden with excitement. He was a warrior to his core, River was. Being Ahroun as the five of us were, there was very little we thought of outside of battle.

"Be that as it may, River," Jazz's voice threatened disciplinary action. "We can't just rush the place without a plan of some sort." To the Lords, he said, "Do you have an idea of how to approach these Hunters?"

"More than an idea." Paris replied. "We've fought their kind before. Their ruthless, but we're worse."

"Nice." Jazz smacked River up side the head. "Ouch! Hey, I was just commenting!"

"No, you were planning. The answer to anything you have working in that pea-brain of yours is no." Jazz said crossly. "As per Pack Law, because I am Beta, my word is law; overridden only by the word of our Alpha."

"Damn." I kicked my older brother under the table. "Not you too!"

"Then don't cuss in front of Papa." I scolded. "It's rude and disrespectful."

A round of laughter sounded in the room. Paris slapped River on the back:

"Too bad for you, man. Wouldn't mind seeing what Crinos looks like though."

River grinned. "Really? You want to see our secondary form?"

"Secondary form?" Strider asked skeptically.

"Yeah, all werewolves have three forms, except our Thurges- they have the one form. But for us warriors of the Pack our true fighter form is Crinos."

Worried chitter reached my ears. Ashlyn and Cameo were talking in the next room with another woman. I focused my hearing on their conversation.

"...dangerous, though." Cameo. The sound of creaking leather.

"Yeah, but she's so nice." Ashlyn's argument nearly made me smile.

The third woman laughed. "She took down Paris in, like, five minutes flat."

Cameo's laughter shook my core with sadness. "She's a quick one, that's for sure."

"I hope the guys do help her out. I mean, she's really polite and her brothers are very... gentlemanly. Her brother Jasper called me Lady Ashlyn."

I actually did smile then. I went to get up from the table. My brothers, in their polite ways, rose respectfully from their chairs.

Clearing my throat, I said: "I'll leave you men to your war planning and go join the women in the next room."

Lucien raised a brow at my words. "How did you know that they were in the next room?"

"Werewolf hearing. Our senses are fifty times that of a human and nearly on a par with a vampires."

"Interesting piece of information." Lucien muttered softly. "Is that how you knew where to find us earlier?"

"When you were in the weight room? Yes, that would be how I found you."


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX - SAVING COLTON

The next day we set out toward the city. The muted lights gave the evening sky a eerie, multi-hued look that sent a shiver through me. River was on my right; Quincy on my left. Father had opted to stay at the mansion with William- who I'd met through Lucien's woman Anya- and Maddox to protect the three women there.

Quincy's eyes were like dark, foreboding green emeralds and they were fast losing their playful light. At twenty-seven, Quincy had never in his life been separated from Colton for longer than an hour. It pained his to do so, so the Elders had been forced to train both in the Thurge and Ahroun ways. But then, they didn't know which was which when it came to the hidden powers of the twins.

"This waiting game is nice." Gideon gave a frustrated sigh as he ran a hand through his electric blue hair. "I absolutely love it."

River turned to me, "okay, what?"

"He can't tell the truth; he can only lie because of his Demon." I explained. "What he means is he is bored and wants to get this over with."

Gideon grinned at me. "Nope!" He raised one pierced brow to his hairline. "Not changing?"

"Not- well, I've been told to wait, actually. Once the battle begins, I'm the one that has to break out Colt."

"Great." His tone suggested otherwise.

"Yeah, wonderful, huh?" I replied mimicking his sarcastic tone. "Front line battle with my own brother; fun, fun."

Several of the others chuckled softly.

"No better person to have Colton face off against." Jasper said gently. "Our sister's voice can penetrate the mind of any raged Garou, bringing them back from the brink nearly one hundred percent of the time."

"That is," River said with finality. "If the Garou in question actually wants to be brought back and if they're listening."

I grinned. Knowing Colt, he would be listening for me. He would be pacing, I knew, in wolf form. Half-crazed with the need to be released and running through the wilderness of the nearest forest.

I raised my little backpack and gave Jazz a knowing look. "I brought a present for our brother that might make him give an ear to what I'm saying when I get in there."

"Rare meat?" Lucien asked raising his dark brows well above his duo-colored eyes.

"You got it." River beamed. "I'm gonna bet that it's his favorite?"

"Marinated beef steak with a healthy dose of fox root to put him out for three days injected into the meat itself." I replied. I turned to Jasper. His dark chocolate brown eyes met my sapphire blue in an understanding look.

"Talleka don nikota?" _Will you be okay? _He asked.

"Des de martendas." _I'll be just fine._

Reyes cast us a dark look. Oops! We reverted back into the language of our people. "Sorry about them." Quincy was suddenly saying. His voice was strained. Too tense to be relaxed in any way.

"Yeah, sorry." I quoted. "I guess we reverted to our other language. Don't worry, though, we were just talking about if I would be okay with going in alone."

Paris' head whipped around to stare at me. "Alone? We thought you were all going in."

"Um, yeah, about that. There was a slight shift in the plans." River said. His voice was laden with unspoken apologies. "We- my brothers and I- petitioned our father to allow us the pleasure of fighting beside you in your quest to bring the Hunters to heel. He agreed, but still wanted to have one of our own facing Colton when the time came to calm the poor bastard-"

"Hey! Watch your mouth, Riv. That's not only our brother in there, he's my twin and I will kick your sorry ass if you call him that again. Mother and Father were a mated pair, asshole."

"Sorry, sorry, sorry! I won't say it again." And River meant it. His eyes cast a sideways glance in my direction. "You sure you're going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine, I swear. If I have to, I'll go Crinos and knock him out." Quincy growled at me. "But _only_ if I have to." He gave a short nod.

Until we got Colton out, we would have to deal with Quincy's ever-depressing attitude. His face had lost more of it's vibrant coloring and his eyes had darkened again. Black threatened to flood the green with a haze that would take away his ability to tell friend from foe. If that happened, well, there was no telling what we would have to do then.

"Okay," Lucien and Sabin were in front of us again. "Time to raid the Hunters' stronghold." Sabin said happily. It was as though he liked the idea of killing the Hunters almost more than my kin did.

We moved to get up from our places. All except me. Fuck I hated waiting for the damn battle to ensue. It took away my purpose for being a warrior.

As I waited, I watched as the men fought along side my brothers in Crinos form. The were fluid, graceful, and deadly to their cores. Gun shots rang in my ears even though they were using silencers so that they didn't deafen us and alert the public.

All we needed were innocents getting in the way.

Reyes glanced back at me and nodded. I was good to go.

Bolting from my hiding place in the treeline, I twisted out of the way of a stray bullet. I kicked the door, the force of the action shattering the wood and sending splinters scattering throughout the front room. Three Hunters spun around, guns raised. Three shots rang from behind me.

I inhaled. Strider. His scent assaulted my nostrils thickly. Each of his fired bullets whizzed past me and hit the Hunters dead on.

"Go!" He hissed at me as he turned back to the battle.

Adrenaline pulsed through my veins, pushing even more fire through me and making me see red. Inhaling again I caught the faint scent of my brother on one of the upper levels.

I ran for the stairs; my booted feet pounded silently on the carpeted wood. I didn't bother to call out to Colton. He would not have answered anyway.

His scent got clearer the higher I climbed. Suddenly, I could hear voices grumbling in the room at the top of the stairs. By the smell of it, there were two in the room I was next to. Perfect. A gift-wrapped dinner to offer my brother.

They came out of the room. Cigarettes and gun oil thick in the air. They didn't even see me as I pulled out the knife Paris gifted me with the day before and slit their throats. The second the blood was spilt from the wounded men, I covered my ears to dull the high-pitched howl let loose from my brother.

"Hold on, Colt, I'm on my way."

I busted the dead bolt lock on the next door and gasped in shock and wonder. Colton whirled, glaring at me in his Crinos form. His nostrils flared with each breath that he took into his lungs. Animalistic lips pulled back to reveal the top row of dagger-sharp teeth. He growled low in his throat; the sound was a menace-edged warning to get out of his way or die.

_Now or never, Akita._ I shifted forms to Crinos. I was slightly smaller than Colton, but that only worked in my favor for the deed I was to do. I lifted one of the fallen Hunters' body into my arms and stalked to the cage door. A sacrifice.

He snarled and snapped at me as I reached to open the door, effectively snapping the lock with my inhuman strength. I tossed the body inside and shut the door again. I shifted back into human form and waited patiently- albeit naked- as he sniffed at the bleeding form on the cage floor. His talons gripped the neck and lower torso.

He pulled, ripping the man in two, splaying blood and internal organs in different directions. A delighted growl erupted from his lips as he lapped at the man's mutilated body. I retreated slowly back out to the hall where I spotted Strider and Paris waiting for me. I gave them a look of sorrow as I bent to pick up my back pack.

I walked back into the room and dropped to my knees in front of the cage. The Hunter's body gone, Colton stared at me with a mix of wonder and hatred. I opened the bag and retrieved the thick slab of rare beef I had stored there. This was the peace offering. I only prayed he accepted it.

I could hear the two warriors walking closer. "Don't come any further. I don't know what he's capable of at this point. Tell the others I'm nearly done and get my other brothers ready to get Colt out of here. Please."

"Okay," Paris whispered, knowing I would hear him. "Be careful, Akita."

_I will._

I closed my eyes and held out my hands with the meat resting in my upturned palms. _Colton, please, I know you're in pain, but you need to shift back into human if you can._

I projected my thoughts straight into my brother's head. Taloned hands gripped the bars as he crouched down to my level. I kept my eyes closed, focusing on getting through to him the best way I could. I could hear the sharp nails scraping the metal. His hot, putrid breath fanned my face.

He whimpered softly. One talon touched my face gently. He remembered me; good. That meant we'd gotten to him on time.

"Colton," I spoke out loud. "If you can't get into human form, shift to wolf for me, please."

The talon disappeared abruptly. I knew it was safe to open my eyes when he took the meat from my hands. He was sitting back on his laurels against the far side of the cage and slowly eating the offering. He looked at me, his eyes going from black to emerald green. Fur and talons retracted as he shifted forms.

"Colton." I whispered, nearly ecstatic with the moment I was in.

He nodded as the last of the meat vanished into his mouth. At last, a battle won without harming my own kin. His elongated muzzle turned back into a normal human mouth.

"Brother."

"A-ki-ta." His speech was broken, his voice raspy.

"Yes, Colt, it is me. Will you come peacefully, my brother?"

"Peace-fully?"

I nodded once. "We have new friends here in Budapest- the Lords. They helped us- your family- get you from the Hunters' grip. Father is at their fortress now. Our brothers are outside."

"Brothers... Quin-cy?"

"Yes, Colton, Quincy awaits your liberation; just as we all do. Please, do not lash out when I open the door."

His long lashes created dark spikes on his cheeks. Shadowy, dark circles from lack of sleep made his face look thin. He'd lost too much weight in less than a week. Malnutrition was not good for our kind.

"Out... forest... run?"

I smiled warmly. "Yes, brother, we will run until we drop." I replied.

"S-shift? Go wolf?"

"Yes, Colton, we will shift together. Then you will follow me into the forest. We must not bring harm to our brethren, our friends, or the innocents of this area. Do you understand?"

He nodded. His body shook as he shifted into his wolf form. I, too, shifted forms. His was a tattered looking chocolate brown, mine a rich, dark auburn. He pushed the cage door, testing it. When it opened under his touch, he yelped in delight. I sighed. As I led the way out of the house, he followed.

Outside, the cool night air ruffled my fur. There was no one to be seen- but then, that was the point. If Colton had seen anyone other than me then he would be tempted to attack on sight. An otherworldly howl rose above the wind. It was one that I recognized.

Quincy. Another howl resonated through the night air. Colton took off ahead of me in the direction of the howl. His one dominate thought was that he was free to run. Free to hunt.

When I found them, Colton had passed out in the snow with Quincy standing guard over his twin. I gave a small bark. He whined slightly. I nodded.

Quincy lowered his head to Colton's sleeping form nudging him with his muzzle. _He is out like a busted light bulb._

_Noticed. Thank you for calling to him._

_It was the least I could do. He's my twin, I couldn't let him do this alone._

_None of us could. Where are the others?_

Jasper's voice echoed in my head. _We're here, little one. A job well done, I see._

_Yeah, we got to him in time to pull him back from insanity._

_Good. The warriors have cleaned the area and headed back to the fortress to prepare for our return. _Jasper shifted forms. "I'm glad I thought to bring a change of clothes for you."

_As am I._ I thought back just before I switched forms. "He was incredibly easy to tame once I sacrificed a Hunter to him."

"Did he accept the beef you brought?"

"Yes." River handed my clothes to me and I dressed quickly. "His voice is shot, but I believe he's safe enough to bring to the fortress."

"That's the best news we could hear in this case." River said happily. "Heard you gave Strider and Paris a good look."

"Yeah, well, they were warned, but they didn't listen." I replied tersely. "Hand me a jacket, would you, Leon?" My brother tossed me his extra coat. "Thanks."

"No problem. Let's get Colton back to the mansion before he wakes." Leon's icy tone said he was still iffy about having to bring our newly liberated brother to where three other women resided.

"He's safe, I promise you." I said.

"Can we go now?" Quincy had shifted forms and dressed as fast as he could. "I want to get to safety before more of those deluded men come after us."


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN - FRIENDLY ENQUIRIES

Two days passed before Colton awoke from his drug-induced sleep. Quincy never left his side except to eat or use the bathroom.

Paris approached me the night that Colton woke up. "Is he really okay to have inside the fortress?"

"I truly believe he is." I replied. "He calmed down after I sacrificed a Hunter to him and fed him that meat I took."

"Then we're good."

"Yeah, we're good." I said as I took a drink of the wine I'd pilfered from the fridge. "Ambrosia?" I asked.

"Yeah, it is. Why, are you susceptible to its effects?"

I laughed. "No, it's a natural drug to my kind."

He gave me a confused look. "Did you say that you sacrificed a Hunter to him?"

"Yes- it was necessary to provide a sacrifice to him to prove my intent was pure."

"Oh." Paris raised one brow. "Well, I guess- since he's awake- you guys would be finding a place now?"

"I guess so. Father is not really liking the fact that we're living off your generosity. We really do appreciate the way that you helped us get our brother back. Quincy's attitude has even reverted back to his happy-go-lucky self- a plus for us."

Strider laughed softly as he entered the room. "I still can't get the sight of you covered in blood and stark naked out of my head. It was like you were a born battle maiden."

"That's because I am." I replied lightly. I took another swig of the ambrosia-laced wine. "Ask any of my brothers. Ask-"

I inhaled deeply. "Well, well, well. Glad to see you up and about, Colton."

"If it wasn't for you and the others getting me out of there and into the forest as fast as you did... I just don't think you would have been able to save me if you'd waited any longer." He plopped down onto the plush leather couch next to me. "Pass that, would you?"

I handed him the bottle of wine. "It's the good stuff."

"He-he; don't tell dad."

"Not a worry there, bro."

Strider grinned. "So, your sister tells us that she's a battle maiden."

"She is. The last of the female Ahourn in our clan, actually." Colton guzzled the bottle. "Damn, this is the good stuff."

I smirked. "They're rare, female Ahourn, and there are not many of us in the entire world. We have to be trained with the males to show that no one gets special treatment. We hunt, fight, and survive just the same as the males of our kind."

Lucien, Reyes, and Gideon walked in with Torin on their heels.

"Looks like he came out of it all right." Lucien said tactfully. "We have to know what- if anything- that the Hunters said to you while you were in their custody, Colton. Would you mind if we asked a few questions?"

"Sounds fair." My brother said calmly. "What do you want to know?"

Torin raised his dark brows to his pale hairline. "Well, if you actually don't mind..."

"Did they tell you anything?"

"Could you be a little more specific?" Trust Colt to get the truth from anyone.

Gideon sat down and looked at me pointedly. "Don't translate." He said quickly. "They did not tell you about us."

Colton smirked. "No translation needed. Yes, they told me about you. Very detailed, too."

"Specify." Reyes said sharpy. He cast a look in my direction before adding "Please".

Colton gave an all-too-familiar laugh. "Since you asked so nicely, allow me to elaborate on the things that they said. I do ask that your questions wait until I'm done, please."

Lucien nodded once. His dark curls bounced with the action. Colt smirked.

"The head one, a guy with white wings, came to me when they captured me. He told me that his name didn't matter and that your demise was his goal. I later learned that he was called Galen. What he didn't know was that he didn't smell like an angel as he claimed." Colt paused to take a drink. "When I called him a demon, he had me locked in that five-by-seven cell my sister busted me out of. Before that though, the men in the house were talking about the demons on the hill and how they were going to use some box to trap your demons inside and purge the earth of your evil. Any questions so far?"

"One: where's Galen?" Paris said darkly. A new woman walked in and sat herself on Reyes' laps.

"Be damned if I knew. The bastard left soon after I was caged. Although, one of the men said something about the States." Colton eyed the woman appraisingly. "She's a beauty. Your woman?"

"Yes." Reyes replied stoically. "Don't touch her."

"No worries about that. Our father raised us to respect women. Especially those that belong to other men." Colton said with a wink. "Any-hoo, where was I? Oh, yeah! The men, once I was locked away, started saying things like how, when you and the rest of the possessed were destroyed, they would celebrate the liberation of the world. Then they mentioned how they would kill off other species one by one starting with the werewolves. I totally freaked when they mentioned that. The only thoughts then were kill them, save my family. I guess that was why I tamed so easily for my kid sister. After I went into hyper-crazed mode and shifted into Crinos form I forgot to listen to anything that would help me escape."

Lucien sighed. "They locked you up. How?"

"They think that silver bullets hurt us. They're wrong. The only reason that they were able to keep me the way that they did was because when they attacked us, I pushed Quincy out of the way and ended up falling into a river that we thought was frozen over but wasn't. The cold put my body into a chronic stasis so I was weakened considerably when they caught me."

Chronic stasis. That explained why they were able to capture him completely. I stared Lucien down. "He's right. Stasis puts our bodies in a sleep-like mode that can only be broken by warming us up as quickly as possible. The longer you take to warm us the longer we take to wake from the sleep."

The new addition to the females looked at me questioningly. "You must be Akita. I had a dream about you standing over a battle field with a little girl beside you."

"My niece, Valeria." I said softly. "You're the one that painted the portraits in the halls, right?"

"Yeah, I am." She said evenly. "My name is Danika."

"Danika," the name was familiar to me.

"That's a pretty name." Colton said, smirking slightly. "I had a friend named Danika. She was wedded to a vampire three years ago. Heh, love at first bite."

Paris laughed. "You loved her, didn't you?"

My brother nodded slightly. "But she was not for me."

"We have our mates picked out by Fate. One of my brothers is actually mated to a male. An odd twist of Fate- I think they were messing around when they chose his mate for him." I said, hoping to lighten the mood.

Gideon's eyes went wide. "Seriously?"

Hmm- he can't tell the truth, but he can ask honest, direct questions with one word? Interesting.

"Yeah, seriously." Colton said. There was a threatening edge to his voice. "She's got a big fucking mouth, my sister does."

Paris visibly gagged. "You're gay?"

"Problem?"

"Nope- I rather the sweetness of the ladies, if you catch my drift."

Colton fixed me with a dark look. "I think I feel like a battle, little sister."

"Um, now? Can't it wait until later?"

"No, it can't. You. Me. Outside, now." I gave a nervous giggle. "Pay back for opening your mouth just now."

"You should not be ashamed to be what you are." I said, pouting. "What if I let you tell them something about me to even this out?"

"Anything?"

"Absolutely- then the slate would be clean." _And I can get River in hot water with you instead._

"She revels in the hunt and would not hesitate to kill anything that got in her way." He finally noted. "Her weakness-"

"ANYTHING BUT THAT!"

Colton smirked evilly. "You said anything." Okay, he had me there. I sat back into the sofa cushions and crossed my arms, pouting. "Her weakness is chocolate and whiskey."

Laughter sounded all around me. I groaned darkly.

"That's fine," I let out a sharp breath. "But Riv called you a bastard."

Colton jumped up. "He WHAT?"

"You heard me right. Ask Gideon." The warrior grinned at me while shaking his head, blue locks swaying with the action.

Colton barked a laugh. "I'm gonna kill him."

"Aw, c'mon now, no need for drastics." Jasper called from the kitchen. How long he'd been listening, I didn't know. "Quincy already put him out in a fight over that."

"Good ol' Quin- he's always looking out for me." Colton said, sighing dramatically.

"My mate died when the Hunters attacked." I whipped my head around to stare at my older brother. "Huh?"

"You said not to be ashamed. You're Jazz's second so that means your word is our law when the Alpha and Beta are not around." I laughed softly. He was coming around. It was somewhat slow progress for him, but he was beginning to accept his fate.

I smiled at him, at his level-headed way of thinking. My brother was not your typical gay. Nope, he was far from the norm on many things including what humans thought of our kind.


End file.
